A parked car can be easily damaged by drivers attempting to parallel park in front or behind that parked car. Such damage is usually to the bumpers of the parked car, resulting in poor appearance, compromised safety, and expensive repairs. This kind of damage is particularly prevalent in urban environments, where parking is at a premium and drivers often attempt to parallel park their cars in tight spaces with little margin for error.
Several attempts have been made to address the problem of damaged bumpers resulting from parallel parking. These solutions include foam and rubber covers that act to cover some portion of a bumper while a car is parked. A solution marketed as the “BUMPER BADGER,” for example, comprises a large rubber panel that can be hung in front of the rear bumper of an automobile utilizing straps that attach inside the vehicle's trunk. Nevertheless, despite some economic success, each of these various solutions suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: 1) not being universal to several makes and models of automobile; 2) only being capable of protecting the front or the rear bumper of an automobile; 3) being difficult to install; 4) being inconvenient to deploy and store; 5) not being durable; 6) being overly voluminous; and 7) not being particularly aesthetic.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for apparatus for protecting automobile bumpers that address these various deficiencies.